Current and Planned Major Projects

Continued widening of I-75 north of Dayton, from Troy to just past Piqua. Straightforward, and there's enough residual traffic density toward Piqua to justify it.

This project has a somewhat interesting history judging from the 2004 TRAC application. Apparently, it had originally been funded for a 1998 start (consistent with when the widening from Tipp City to Troy started). Money that was supposed to be used here got diverted instead to the 70/75 interchange rebuild. Given the penalty points that TRAC seems to apply to the score of any project proposed for the Miami Valley, it's anyone's guess when it will finally be constructed.

The 75 component of the 70-75 interchange rebuild. In order to accomodate the new high-speed ramps, the existing interchange at Little York Road (Exit 60) had to be removed. A new tight-diamond exit (Exit 59) has been built half a mile to the south at Benchwood/Wyse Road to accomodate the hotels and restaraunts along the frontage roads between it and Little York.

This is a stretch of highway which according to a May 2004 Dayton Daily News report saw 270 accidents between 2000 and 2002. This project attempted to address this statistic by:

• Adding an extra travel lane in each direction
• Rebuilding of the Stanley Avenue interchange into a more conventional diamond
• Leveling the highway to improve sight lines for drivers.

If ODOT is really serious about improving traffic flow through Dayton, the following modifications would also have been a part of this project:

• Removal of the partial interchange at Neva Street. These ramps, about a quarter of a mile south of Wagner Ford Road, appear to dump directly into a residential neighborhood. I have never seen them used.
• Removal of the partial interchange at Keowee Street. Unnecessary due to proximity of Stanley Avenue interchange.
• Removal of the partial interchange at Leo Street. Can be serviced from OH 4/Keowee Street or I-75/Stanley Avenue interchanges.

The following changes have been proposed to improve traffic flow on 75 through downtown Dayton:

• Rebuild of the OH 48 exit to eliminate left-hand merges (northbound) and exits (southbound)
• 3 through lanes with no lane changes. Currently, through traffic is on two lanes until US 35, and requires multiple lane changes through downtown to avoid unexpectedly exiting the highway.
• Rebuild of the OH 4 exit from a New England Y to a double trumpet. Ramp system south of exit will merge together with the OH 48 ramps in a C/D system.
• Removal of the Grand Avenue interchange and the loop ramp from southbound Riverside to northbound 75.

This project would continue three lane continuity on I-75 in each direction while rebuilding the 1st/2nd/3rd Street interchange complex into something that doesn't require left-hand exits (southbound) or merges (northbound).

This project was the MVRPC's top priority for TRAC funding for the 2004 review cycle.

ODOT has also approved the construction of a third through lane in each direction through the US 35 interchange for a price tag of $39 million.

I also believe this project will add auxilliary lanes between 35 and Edwin C. Moses, as event traffic at UD Arena has been a long-standing problem the MVRPC would like solved Real Soon Now. There are also unspecified Special Event improvements scheduled for the Edwin C. Moses interchange that will occur within the next few years.

MVRPC would like to see 8 lanes along this stretch of highway someday. There are currently no engineering studies toward adding the extra lanes.

There is also some sentiment toward simplifying the Springboro Pike/Dryden Road interchange complex at exit 50. I have even read plans for removing the Dryden Road ramps and extending Dorothy Lane to a new interchange a mile south, but that's only a study bullet on the MVRPC 2030 Long Range Plan.

The most important project along this stretch of 75 is the rebuilding of the Central Avenue exit. Because there are several traffic movements onto and off of 75 that are missing, traffic ends up edxiting at OH 725. The 2004 TRAC application identified this as a reason why the OH 725 interchange is chronically overloaded. The current interchange would be replaced by a diamond, and several bridges carrying 75 over nearby roads and railroad tracks would be rebuilt to accomodate both the new interchange ramps and more through lanes.

After years of hassle, ODOT is finally ponying up $13.6 million for the construction of an interchange at Austin Road (approximately 1.5 miles south of the I-675 exit). Many have wanted one here so there would be a back way of getting to Miamisburg and the Dayton Mall without going all the way down to Springboro. This would also go a long way toward reducing congestion at the OH 725 interchange once built.

The Governor's 2003 plan intends for this entire stretch to be 8 lanes. An ODOT Fact Sheet from December 2004 says the entire run of I-75 through Warren County (which for all practical purposes would be this stretch is due for pavement reconstruction and widening starting in spring of 2009.

A rebuild of the OH 122 interchange is also planned for this timeframe. The northbound merge and exit ramps are currently of a non-standard design, being loop ramps with traffic weaving taking place in a C/D lane. The 12/04 fact sheet says extra lanes will be added to these ramps, but mentions nothing about redesigning the interchange.

A rebuild of the OH 63 interchange is planned for this timeframe. This is a small diamond that needs extra lanes and longer ramps to be safe. The bridge will also be rebuilt to accomodate more travel lanes for I-75 at this time.

Four miles of pavement rehabilitation and widening is also scheduled to start at this time along the rest of I-75's run through Butler County.

This stretch of 75 passes by the GE Evendale plant before each right-of-way takes a separate path to the Reagan Highway. Residential neighborhoods and factories crowd close to each RoW on the stretch north of Reagan, which makes acquiring land the driver in the project cost.

Local Cincinnati authorities would like to see at least one extra lane on this entire stretch of highway. The approved TRAC application only covers widening this stretch down to Davis Avenue. Nothing is said about the remaining few miles down to Paddock Road, or even the missing traffic movements between 75 and the Reagan Highway.

Of all the North-South Initiative projects between Dayton and Cincinnati, this one has its own website, accessible off the the main ODOT website. The start date listed above folds the required engineering development work into the construction schedule.

This study is looking for ways to improve this stretch of highway, which includes the western terminus of the Norwood Lateral expressway. ODOT anticipates an eventual construction cost of $59 million, which seems a bit on the low side considering the extra right-of way that is probably going to be needed.

Scheduling this build will also be a problem given when the stretches to the north and south are due to build. I think it would be a very bad idea to have the entire length of I-75 through Cincinnati under construction all at the same time.

This project would rebuild non-standard interchanges at Mitchel Avenue, I-74, and Hopple Road. Several of the ramps at the I-74 split are non-standard in either length or width (sometimes both), and the interchange has to be completely rebuilt to meet current interstate standards. Hopple Road and Harrison Avenue have non-standard left-hand exit which will have to be rebuilt.

The big project that local Cincinnati authorities are psyching themselves up to build is the replacement and/or renovation of the Brent Spence Bridge. This is a dual-deck cantilever span which carries both I-71 and and I-75 across the Ohio River and is approaching both capacity limits and its original designed lifetime. From reading planning documents and this website, six ideas for replacing the Brent Spence were presented to the public early in 2004. Five of these have survived the initial round of comments, and involve building replacement spans either next to or just downstream of the existing span. The scenarios differ on whether the original bridge is to be retained for local traffic.

Whatever bridge plan is selected, the approaches to the north bank of the Ohio will have to be realigned. A partial rebuild of the already-complex Fort Washington Way interchange may also be necessary. ODOT has already allocated $37 million for this development work, which is a little more than 10% of the anticipated project cost. South bank approaches will be the problem of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and as such are beyond the scope of this page.